The Chinese worker who left police custody on the way to the airport on Thursday night had a charge of absconding – which carries a maximum sentence of five years – withdrawn when he appeared in the Auckland District Court today.

The worker, who was said by his lawyer to be in a very distressed state after 10-days in custody, had opened an unlocked door of the patrol car on the way to the airport and got out.

He had hoped to recover lost property and money he was owed. He then walked for seven hours’ confused and disoriented before speaking to an early morning exerciser who spoke Mandarin and they agreed that he should surrender himself to the police again, according to a statement by Unite Union.

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The worker’s lawyer, Matt Robson, who represents nine of the 10 Chinese workers detained, said he had suffered migrant labour exploitation and he should be released to allow the allegations to be investigated.

However, the magistrate said he had no power to do so and the worker was remanded in police custody again on outstanding immigration matters.

The worker asked to speak to the court and begged to be able to work in New Zealand so that he could earn back the large amount of money paid in fees to get here and provide for his parents, wife and child back in China.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi has said this case was not one of trafficking. The person he had delegated the authority to make this decision reportedly did so after examining the email trail documents for 20 minutes.

False promises, huge fees
But the government’s own website on trafficking includes the circumstances of these workers who were recruited and made false promises in China and paid huge fees for fake visas that they thought would be work visas and were then told they could change from their visitor status once they arrived, which was a lie.

At the top of the site page is a summary statement:

“The United Nations defines people trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by deceptive, coercive or other improper means for the purpose of exploiting that person. It is a global crime, committed at the expense of victims who are robbed of their dignity and freedom.”

Unite Union advocate Mike Treen asked Minister Kris Faafoi to explain which part of “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by deceptive, coercive or other improper means for the purpose of exploiting that person” did not apply in this and so many other cases that were not investigated.

The Papua New Guinea government has clarified that 175 workers from China who have arrived in Port Moresby from the Philippines had complied with all covid-19 entry requirements and hygiene protocols.

National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning said the Chinese workers had been working on government projects in PNG and had gone home for a break before the pandemic struck.

But they were unable to return until yesterday because of international flight restrictions.

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Two more confirmed covid-19 cases were reported – one in Port Moresby and one in Morobe – with the national total now 271.

The Port Moresby man is a 28-year-old man from East Boroko.

The returning Chinese workers arrived on a Philippines Airlines flight around noon on Thursday and were whisked away in buses to their hotels for the 14-day quarantine.

“Their arrival is not part of any repatriation exercise,” Manning said.

‘All protocols followed’
“All protocols were followed. It included testing prior to their arrival and isolation.

“And when they arrived, they automatically go into a 14-day quarantine in authorised hotels (as required) in the new normal measures.”

He said the workers had returned to complete government projects.

“They are not here as trade store owners (or) other smaller investments. They will all be here for the next six to 12 months. No crew-change for them,” Manning said.

“We have taken all precautions to ensure we do not put [PNG] people at risk, hence the stringent restrictions and testing regime prior to arrival and during quarantine.”

He said the 175 were construction managers and workers of major Chinese state-owned enterprises engaged in major government infrastructure including a hydro-power station, provincial airport redevelopments, highway constructions and construction of the National Court and Supreme Court building.

International funding
The projects are funded by international funding institutions such as the Asian Development Bank.

“The funding will be cancelled should we fail to complete these projects on time for whatever reason. We do not want this to happen as these are important projects that will have a positive impact on our people and country,” Manning said.

He said the country must return to normalcy with as little disruption as possible.

Manning added that other expatriate workers involved in important government projects around the country would be returning too.

“However, these will be done under stringent control measures,” he said.

Manning said new measures were in place for international travel.

“No person is permitted to board an aircraft bound for Papua New Guinea unless they have been tested for the Covid-19 within a seven-day period prior to boarding an aircraft, have been tested for the Covid-19 using real time reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests (and) their tests have returned negative for the Covid-19.”

Miriam Zarriga is a reporter for The National newspaper of Port Moresby. This article is republished with permission.